2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season (HurricaneWiz Prediction)
The 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season was an above normal season with 14 named storms, 7 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes. Storms Tropical Storm Alberto Tropical Depression One developed on May 30 in the Atlantic Ocean 350 miles to the northeast of Nassau, Bahamas. It became Tropical Storm Alberto on the evening of May 31. It strengthened into a storm of 65 mph sustained winds before making landfall near Virginia Beach, Virginia on June 3. It dissipated two days days later over the Appalachians of Pennsylvania and New York. Tropical Storm Alberto caused 7 deaths and $175 million in damages, mostly in North Carolina and the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States due to flash flooding. Tropical Storm Beryl The second named storm of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season formed on June 22 from a tropical disturbance in the western Caribbean Sea. That disturbance then developed into a tropical depression and then a tropical storm. Beryl made landfall at its peak on June 24 on the border of Belize and Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula. It weakened over land but slightly restrengthened over the Bay of Campeche before making a second landfall just to the north of Veracruz, Mexico two days later. Beryl dissipated over the Sierra Orientals on June 27. The tropical storm caused $22 million in damage in its wake and killed one person in Mexico. Hurricane Chris Like Hurricane Ophelia (2005), Tropical Depression Three formed between Andros and Grand Bahama in the Bahamas on June 25 before developing into Tropical Storm Chris that same day. It moved up the coast of Florida before briefly becoming a hurricane late June 27- early June 28. Chris made landfall in Savannah, Georgia that morning as a category one hurricane with winds of 75 mph. Chris moved over land and became extratropical before dissipating near the Ohio River on June 30. Hurricane Chris was responsible for claiming 8 lives and causing $170 million in damage, mostly in the Bahamas and the Southeastern United States. Tropical Storm Debby Tropical Depression Four was designated on July 7 from a low-pressure area to the north of the southeastern Bahamas. It slowly moved northwest-bound and became Tropical Storm Debby. Its lifespan was six days, slightly above average for a tropical storm. Before it could strengthen further, Debby met up the the Gulf Stream on July 10 and the jet stream picked up the storm and it moved over cooler waters in the Atlantic Ocean. Debby became extratropical on July 12 and dissipated the next day with minimal impact on land with the exception of its remnants bringing light rain to the British Isles. Since Tropical Storm Debby had minimal contact with land, total damages from the storm were minimal. No deaths were reported. Tropical Storm Ernesto Ernesto was born on July 13 in the Caribbean Sea 200 miles north of Panama City, Panama as Tropical Depression Five. The next day, as it moved to the west-northwest, the tropical storm developed and was given the name Ernesto. On July 15, near peak intensity, the storm made landfall in northern Nicaragua, triggering isolated flash floods and mudslides. Ernesto became extratropical as it moved over mountainous terrain and dissipated July 17 in the Pacific Ocean before it had the chance to re-develop as a tropical system in the Eastern Pacific Basin. Fourteen people people died in Central America from the storm (mostly in Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador) and 9 more were reported missing, causing $125 billion in damages. Hurricane Florence Hurricane Florence formed on August 3 off the Cape Verde Islands and dissipated on August 15 in the North-Central Atlantic while never impacting land due to being a "fish storm" over the Atlantic Ocean. Its intensity peaked on August 10 as a strong Category 4 Hurricane several hundred miles to the east of the island of Bermuda. During it lifespan Florence caused zero deaths and zero damages as a result of not being a threat to land. Tropical Storm Gordon Tropical Depression Seven formed near the Cape Verde Islands almost immediately after moving off the coast of Africa. Its lifespan was almost exactly identical to Tropical Storm Debby (2006) except Gordon was never forecast to became a hurricane . The storm fizzled into an extratropical system on August 17 and dissipated entirely the next day in the western Atlantic due to strong wind shear as it continued moving northwest. Damage from Tropical Storm Gordon was minimal although one direct death happened from the storm in the Cape Verde Islands. Hurricane Helene What would become Helene formed on August 26 as a tropical depression between the Windward Islands and the Cape Verde Islands in the Central Atlantic Ocean. It became a tropical storm the next day before becoming a hurricane on August 29. It peaked in terms of intensity in the early hours of August 30. In its path lay the Leeward Islands, The Virgin islands, and Puerto Rico. Helene hit the areas as a category 1 hurricane from late August 30 into early August 31. After passing through the region, Helene encountered wind shear and then the Gulf Stream, causing it to dissipate on September 1. Hurricane Helene hit the Caribbean hard, causing 48 deaths in its path and caused $295 million in damages across the Caribbean. The name Helene was retired in the spring of 2019 by the WMO and was replaced with Hallie for the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Hurricane Isaac The origins of Hurricane Isaac date back to September 9 when the disturbance it developed from grew into a tropical depression. The depression was named Isaac the next day when it became a tropical storm the next day and became a hurricane a day after that. The storm was upgraded to a Category 5 hurricane on September 13 and maintained this peak into the early hours of the following morning. At this time, Isaac was passing through the Yucatan Channel between Mexico and Cuba, and ravaged the Caribbean (mostly Jamaica, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands). Afterwards, the hurricane curved to the northeast, weakening slightly before making landfall in Largo, Florida as a category 4 storm on September 16 with winds of over 140 mph. It was the 14th anniversary Hurricane Ivan (2004) made landfall in Alabama Thirty foot storm surge struck Tampa and St. Petersburg via the Tampa Bay. It moved quickly across the Florida peninsula and exited the state just south of Jacksonville as a strong category 2 hurricane with wind speeds of 110 mph. It made landfall in South Carolina as a category 1 storm on September 17 before dissipating over the Appalachian Mountains the next day. Isaac was the second costliest hurricane in the U.S. of all-time behind Katrina, with damages estimated at $90 billion. Also, 215 deaths were associated with this hurricane across the Caribbean and the United States. The name Isaac was retired in the spring of 2019 by the WMO and was replaced with Iago for the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season. Hurricane Joyce Hurricane Joyce began its life as Tropical Depression Ten on September 23 west of the Cape Verde Islands. After becoming Tropical Storm Joyce the next day, it developed into a hurricane on September 26. It dissipated on October 2 due to encountering cooler waters further north, with its extratropical remnants once again bringing rain to the British Isles. No deaths caused by Hurricane were reported and damage was nonexistent until its extratropical phase where minimal damage across the British Isles occurred. Hurricane Kirk Kirk was a "fish storm" in the form of a category 1 hurricane at its peak. It formed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean from a tropical wave traveling off the African coast. Becoming a tropical depression on October 8, it was upgraded to a tropical storm the following day and given the name Kirk. It became a hurricane on October 10, peaking in intensity on October 11. Encountering cold waters further north, Kirk fizzled out over the next couple of days before dissipating entirely. No deaths were reported and no damage was reported either as land was never effected by Hurricane Kirk. Hurricane Leslie Tropical Storm Michael Tropical Storm Nadine